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There are different indicator mineral suites and subsuites for:  Ni-Cu-PGE and porphyry Cu deposits  the successive mineralizing events or processes that form these deposits  each hydrothermal alteration zone

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Conclusions Ni-Cu-PGE and porphyry Cu systems are very different but they share two key features that are reflected in their indicator mineral footprints: Both are large. Therefore both have regional-scale indicator mineral footprints that can be detected economically with a wide sample spacing (comparable to the footprint of an entire field of kimberlite pipes) Both systems are zoned in time and space. Each mineralizing event or alteration zone supplies a different subsuite of indicator minerals to the regional anomaly. If we tighten our sample spacing at the head of this anomaly, we can resolve this zoning and focus on the best targets (comparable to locating the most fertile pipes within a kimberlite field) Together these features make indicator mineralogy a very effective exploration tool for both Ni-Cu-PGE and porphyry Cu deposits …. and possibly for other large-scale magmatic-hydrothermal systems such as IOCG.